Panel Announced for MARVEL'S CLOAK & DAGGER Freeform Summit

Freeform, Disney's young adult television network, announced today the latest additions to the "Freeform Summit," a first-time event for the network, featuring a series of panel discussions addressing activism, social change, representation in television and various other important issues defining modern youth culture today. Joining THE LINEUP is the highly anticipated television series "Marvel's Cloak & Dagger," in the panel "From Comics to Screen - Creating 'Marvel's Cloak & Dagger.'" Summit attendees will screen an extended, never-before-seen, first look clip from the premiere episode of the series. The network also announced live musical performances by Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records artists, and stars of breakout hit "grown-ish," Chloe x Halle, Gold-certified RCA rapper and record producer Kid Ink, and a DJ set by DJ Gabriel Diggs to close out the event.

It used to be that you would read a comic book and transport yourself to a place that you fantasized being a part of. Today's television viewing has created long-lasting opportunities for those fantasies to become real, with fan-favorite comic book properties that we grew up with becoming mainstream, appointment entertainment. Stories that we know and love are now brought to our many screens, but how do you ensure that the monumental characters are accurately portrayed? How do you take those characters that were created over 20 years ago and translate their intimate journeys for today's viewer, when those characters were created in a different social landscape? And are those journeys necessarily so different now than they were then? Join the producing team behind "Marvel's Cloak & Dagger" and series stars for a discussion about creating "Cloak" aka "Tandy Bowen" and "Dagger" aka "Tyrone Johnson" - a pair of young adults navigating a world of complexity, separating from parents, creating relationships and forming their own identities. While many of these challenges sound familiar, our young heroes have newly discovered superpowers that only make their journeys more complicated...

"Marvel's Cloak & Dagger" is a coming-of-age series based on the beloved comic characters and is co-produced by Marvel Television and ABC Signature Studios.

The "Freeform Summit," taking place THURSDAY, JAN. 18 at NeueHouse Hollywood, includes talent, executives, showrunners and directors across multiple series spotlighting the brand new 2018 programming lineup including, but not limited to, "grown-ish," "Siren" and "Alone Together," as well as fan-favorite shows including "The Bold Type," "The Fosters" and more. The summit will also feature key influencers, tastemakers and pop culture titans who are embracing and effecting cultural change through storytelling, mentorship and engagement. The format of the summit is guided by Freeform's identity, which continues to set itself apart from other content platforms by delivering stories that celebrate the power, possibility and inclusivity of youth culture - stories that are bold, sophisticated, inspirational, culturally significant and most importantly, on the pulse of young adult life.

Previously announced panels include:

MILLENNIALS ARE DESTROYING ALL THE INDUSTRIES
Every day, millennials are blamed for the end of times. They've been accused of singlehandedly killing entire industries with their bare hands. First, they came after music. Then, they ruined dating. Then, they did away with face-to-face interaction and now they're coming after our TVs. "Experts" have called them everything from self-centered and lazy to spoiled and entitled - but the truth is, they're saving the world. Today's young adult is leveraging technology to disrupt fundraising, demanding transparency from our government, challenging gender stereotypes, modernizing the retail segment and breaking down traditional organizational norms. Join the "everyday changemakers" of today for a discussion about effecting change and making a difference through storytelling, social connection and creativity.

UNDERSTANDING AND CULTIVATING LOVE ON AND OFF SCREEN
Thirty years ago, Murphy Brown disrupted the social and political norms, giving voice to a baby boomer generation of women who saw themselves in her character - as PIONEERS in their fields, but still having to conform to domestic responsibilities. A decade later, Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte didn't just date, sip cosmos and talk about men... They were examples of the powerful women in the workforce who were no longer settling on marriage and no longer being boxed into the "sad fate" of single, female characters on television. Here we are in 2018 where everything is instantaneous - we can get a cab, groceries, take out, a date and even sex by the swipe of our fingertips. But love isn't instant. It's not a simple "like" or "tap" and doesn't always look perfect. How do our current and future television heroes and heroines provide a real-life portrayal of what it's like to grow in life and love in today's hyper-connected world? How do you correctly create and showcase the complexity of merging career, love and sex without sacrificing one over the other? And how can our male counterparts contribute to the rise of the empowered female?

EXPLORING THE NARRATIVE WITHOUT EXPLOITING IT
In the last few years, television and film have aimed to include members across the LGBTQ alphabet. From first kiss to first marriage, from reality to scripted, narratives of gay, lesbian, bi, trans and non-binary gender are popping up in some very UNEXPECTED places. From Asia Kate Dillon's non-binary character on "Billions" to Elliot Fletcher's ground breaking trans sex scene on "The Fosters," television is continuing to push the boundaries and open a dialogue with their audience. Not only are actors portraying an often overlooked community, but viewers are seeing them in situations never seen on television before. But to what point are we exploiting a narrative for buzz? How do you create a holistic depiction of a character's path for the average viewer to understand without discounting the authentic journey of the individual? Does the rise of online platforms where members of all communities are able to create powerful voices for themselves and others help hold the entertainment industry accountable?